Virat Kohli Replies Hilariously After Being Congratulated By Ishant Sharma For 50th International Ton

With congratulatory messages pouring in from all corners for Team India skipper Virat Kohli, fast-bowler Ishant Sharma also praised and congratulated the 29-year old after his record-equalling century in the just-concluded first Test against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens.

The right-handed batsman, who is the second leading centurion in One-Day Internationals, was dismissed for a rare duck in the first innings but proved his worth in the second innings with perhaps one of the best centuries of his career. After being on the backfoot for the first four days of the game, the hosts were firmly on the driver’s seat after Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul added 166 runs for the first wicket, thus helping India to wipe Sri Lanka’s 122-run with utmost ease.

However, Sri Lanka clawed its way back into the game in the first two sessions of the final  day due to Suranga Lakmal’s fine bowling performance. The right-arm pacer, who had wreaked havoc in the first innings, dismissed both the overnight batsmen- KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara cheaply to set the tone for the visitors. India’s miseries were further compounded when Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin Wriddhiman Saha were dismissed for single-digit scores.

But, captain Kohli held firm one end and scored a fine century to guide India to a competitive 352 for 8 before declaring. The right-handed batsman was unbeaten on 104 off just 119 balls.

The century was his 18th in Tests and the first at the iconic stadium. Meanwhile, the knock helped him to achieve a couple of remarkable feats. With his latest century, Kohli became the second Indian batsman after the legendary Sachin Tendulkar to register 50 international hundreds. The Delhi-born star is now eighth in the list of most number of international centuries. He is now the sixth in the list of Indians with the most number of Test centuries. Only Mohammed Azharuddin (22), Virender Sehwag (23), Sunil Gavaskar (34), Rahul Dravid (36) and Sachin Tendulkar (51) are ahead of him.

Kohli also equalled Hashim Amla’s record of hitting the fastest 50 international centuries, reaching the landmark in his 348th innings.

After the knock, Ishant took to Twitter to write: @imVkohli Congrats Cheeku ??for ur incredible achievement of becoming the 8th Batsman EVER to score 50 or more int’l Centuries & being fastest to score it (348 innings). Great Going, Chakde Phatte?.”

@imVkohli Congrats Cheeku ??for ur incredible achievement of becoming the 8th Batsman EVER to score 50 or more int'l Centuries & being fastest to score it (348 innings). Great Going, Chakde Phatte? pic.twitter.com/64g7KH4eBA

— Ishant Sharma (@ImIshant) November 20, 2017

Kohli was quick to reply to Ishant’s message as he hilariously wrote:“Thanks Lambe ?”

Thanks Lambe ?

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) November 20, 2017

Coming to the game, it ended in a thrilling draw as Sri Lanka were reeling at 75 for 7 before bad light rescued them.